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Can we post long, very long stories of trips and funny or special moments? Can be in episodes, so not tire you to much.

I knocked this together from bits on FB, a diary which gives up after a couple of days, and photos. I realise now that there was a lot of video as well on the FB pages. I shall have to do some editing before the next post. 31st Aug 2017 Said goodbye to my daughter and family near Guildford and hit the motorway down to Dover. Caught a ferry across and then rode towards Antwerp and then Arnhem. Didn’t get quite as far as that and stayed at a campsite not far from Nijmegen owned by a biker as it happened. Friday 1st Sept. Got up to a misty morning, a wet tent and a lovely atmosphere with geese setting off to feed. Ideal time for a shower at 0700 as I was the only one about. Following my mate Titus’s advise I packed up and set off without breakfast, not even a brew. The plan was to do a hundred miles before breakfast; I managed a hundred and twenty before stopping at a rest area and having some watery/milky porridge and a coffee. Then it was over into Germany, surviving the gridlock around Hamburg after endless miles of filtering, and making it up into Denmark where I stopped for a coffee and a roll. It was then about a hundred miles or so to a campsite not far from Copenhagen. Not many photos as motorways look the same wherever they are, boring. Useful for the commute though. There was a so called rock happening there in the town. I walked over to the village square but was horrified by the density of the crowds. Little kids there as well looking frightened. I took a few snaps of the streets but kept the phone in my pocket zipped up in the crowds. Tomorrow morning it’ll be over the bridge to Sweden.

I'm with Pete, I love to roam around old buildings. Used to get into plenty as a kid.?

Nice!!! Lovely horses!

Lovely photo. Like the light. This was rough. Crossing the tail end of a hurricane helping with disaster relief. We were headed for Grand Turk if I remember correctly. That's a 35,000 tonne tanker.

Same here! ?

You will have to behave yourself now Bob LOL

Plus those CV carbs work better with the air box installed

You doing gyenaeclogy as well now Tym ?

How come no one told me to wear safety glasses when im cleaning out orifices? lol

that's the stuff, you're our own one man scooby gang, Pete

Hi!! Well spotted!! I was up North in my innicial stages in the UK, which was great to be able to deal with down South when moved to London. I started in Leeds, then Manchester, then Cheshire. 4 years of Northen England. I was very, very happy there. One of the reasons I left Portugal was because I wanted a bike and after 3 month in the UK I had one. I had the bike, the friends and the life I knew I wanted, but never thought I'd get!! For that, and so many more reasons, the UK is my real home. I landed in a job that had 5 bikers and then made friends with a very good group of guys in Cheshire and my biking life was a lot more then I could have ever dreament!! North Wales, Peak District, Lake District, yorkshiredales. Every weekend but also during the week, because I was working with the Foot a d Mouth outbreak and only had a bike, so that is how how I went to work most days, even in the bleak month of March 2001. I literally went from zero to hero in 3 month!! On a magical little bike, Hornet 250. I travelled from Cheshire to Lisbon on that bike, with its tiny 4 cilinders!! Through a massive storm that landed us ( me and the bike!) In Roscoff, France instead of Santander, Spain! My first ever solo trip was for sure the best start to adventuring any adventure rider can have. But that is another, very long, story. And I wont go into North-Sourh divisons, but, and much more relevant, I shall declare my allience in the War of the Roses to Lancashire, not Yorkshire!! Pedro is experienced with UK biking culture from afar. Is life has a huge whole in that he never had the chance to be there in person, to live it, to be around what is for sure the funniest, nicest, craziest biking scene ever! Maybe one day, who knows, he can spend some time there! You guys could push him a long, he needs a push to go North!! Saying that, it is true bikes and bikers have changed a lot. We have the Pre-Long Way Round Era and the Pos-Long Way Round Era, where BMW GS stopped being the Old man-odd (and very tall!)-unfashionable-bike to the hip-modern-racy-fashionable bike. Best bike in the World, true fact, but not my choice. Im very fortunate to have experienced so much in the UK. My love for bikes is old, as old as me basically and because I was brought up by an Anglophile, there could not be a better combination or a better place to be for me! I was Triumph through and through before I left Portugal and my heart is Speed Triple, so after having a crash on the Hornet, upgraded to the first 1050 in 2005, when I moved to London and became the Rat Pack girl at Jack Lilleys. Actually I lived in Sunningdale, so I didnt have the "pleasure" of the London pollution!! Another fabulous 4 years, new group of friends, different biking scene. Many trips to the Continent, alone or leading groups, weekly nights at the Ace cafe and weekend trips to the Surrey country side, mainly Newlan's Corner. Around 15 000 miles a year, I WAS busy!! And in between a challenge, Lands End to John O'Groats in less then "some" hours, have you heard of it?! Another story... made it, with some delays courtesy of the boys in blue!! Most surprised face I have ever seen, on that Scottish Policeman, when my helmet came off!! We have to do stupid things when we are young ( maybe when we are old too, maybe!), its how it goes. Great times!!

Hi Phil, you too Have you got some teeth now? ?

The air cut off valve was full of crap, ugh...butt, so far all the expensive parts look ok.

Well, so far, the main and the pilo t jets are clogged, this is pre carb cleaner condition...

I don't suppose you remember, but on July 2012 I posted a report in which, riding the XR in the woods, I found an abandoned puppy and took him home. He was barely one month old, very sick and had a serious case of scabies, left to die in a heatwave. This is him after a couple of weeks at home: And this is him now, spoiled and 8 years old, having survived serious liver surgery last year: He's the man! ?